Sidekick
by beautiful.unusual
Summary: "Y-you know, it's funny. I hear about you all the t-time on the news but it never seemed real." After Kendall's saved from a bank robbery, he becomes infatuated with the town's superhero, Marvelous Man.
1. The Anarchist

After hearing the buzz come from the far side of the room, I rush to the closet to change. In record time, I'm suited up and ready to go. Location in hand, I'm on my way downtown. Even from the skies, I can see the chaos on the ground. Police, fire, torn up building. The usual damage caused by one of the town rogues. In the back of my mind I try to figure out which one it could be this time. It could be Muerta, but I just put her in jail last week. Devastator's been behind bars the longest so I count him out. Then again he's famous for his long term breakout plans. I would know.

"Here he comes!" I hear when I land. I make my way over to the police chief and wait while he fills me in on the situation. I only stay long enough to hear 'seven hostages' and 'a bomb'. Easy enough. I'll be back home before breakfast.

I find a back entrance to the bank and try to find a way to the front. As I round the corner, I see six of the seven hostages tied up back to back. One of them notices me and tells the others, thankfully not drawing attention to me. I tap the button on the side of my mask and survey the area. The Anarchist is by the door, taunting the police with a gun to a poor man's head. I reach for my belt and load a single dart into my gun. I shoot and it hits him directly in the back of his leg, making him instantly drop to the ground, freeing the man from his grasp. I move toward the front of the building, finding it and disarming it with minutes to spare. I look down and check my timer; a new record.

"Is he dead?" I hear a shaky voice come from behind me and a hand reaches to touch my shoulder. I turn around and am faced with a pair of the greenest eyes I've ever seen.

"Not dead, stunned. He should be out for hours. Days, even." He nods and rubs at his neck and sighs. "You're safe now." He looks up at me and gives me a half-hearted smile. I turn to untie the other six and I hear him speak again.

"Y-you know, it's funny. I hear about you all the t-time on the news but it never seemed real. Like you were s-some dream or figment of everyone's im-magination or something. You're not, though. You just saved my life."

"It's my job." I flash him my award winning smile and wink. I turn around again and start my walk into the flashing lights of the press.

"Thank you." It's low, and quiet, almost a whisper but I still hear it. It's the first time anyone has ever thanked me for saving them in years. This is a gesture I haven't seen since the first person I saved all those years ago. After becoming the town hero, people stop be grateful for your help and _expect_ it. I turn around, this time smiling genuinely.

"What's your name?" I put my hand out and he walks over to grab it.

"Kendall. Kendall Knight."

"You're welcome, Kendall Knight." I let go of his hand and leave the way I came, deciding that the press already has their story. I get home and strip off my clothes, placing them in the back of my closet before hitting the button that conceals them. As I sink into bed, I turn on the news and see the green-eyed sweetheart.

"-personally held captive by The Anarchist, how does it feel?"

"I thought I was going to die. Never see my friends or family again. All I could think about were all of the things I haven't done yet. Get a better job, fall in love, move out of my parents' house. Know what I mean?"

"Yes." The reporter gives a fake chuckle and returns to the questions. "How was Marvelous Man in person? Is he as marvelous as his name declares?"

"He was-" I wait for his reaction, expecting the worst. You'd think that after saving people's lives, they'd love you. Not in my case. To them I'm 'fake', 'annoying', 'obnoxious' and 'cocky. "-all that and then some. It was mind blowing, really. To see him in action. I owe him my life."

I shut the TV off and slip under the covers, the smile never leaving my face.

There should be more people like Kendall Knight.

* * *

**Okay, so Marvelous Man isn't the coolest Superhero name, but it's all I could think of. All the good ones are taken. :)-**


	2. Technological

I jolt awake at the same moment I usually do in this dream. Right after the bullet leaves the barrel of the gun being held to my temple. I shoot out of bed and look over to the nightstand. As expected, my phone shows that it's almost 5 a.m. As I have every night since the night I almost died, I go downstairs and start up my computer. When the screen lights up, I open Google and enter 'marvelous man' into the search bar. Clicking on the first result, I wait for the page to load. I scroll down the page, past pictures and pictures of the gorgeous hero, before coming to a video.

_"Why do you do it? Why do you risk your life to save others?" _

_"It's what I love doing. I like protecting people." _

_"So there's no ulterior motive? No vengeance for your felled parents? No reason to seek justice?" _

_"No. I just love people and love keeping people safe." He flashes a smile at the camera and winks. _

A sense of reassurance and calm washes over me as I sit back in the chair, scrolling through more pictures of Marvelous Man. Though I've calmed down from my fear of being killed, my heart's still racing but in a completely different way.

* * *

I jump out of bed when I hear my alarm sound. I stretch out before walking over to put the Emergency Phone back on the hook.

"James! Get your ass out of bed!" I groan and pull on a pair of pants before walking downstairs.

"Carlos, just because I give you a key doesn't mean you can come in and wake me up." Carlos is my right hand man. The Robin to my Batman, if you will, even though he doesn't want to be considered my sidekick anymore. He holds down the homestead and makes sure that all of the technology I use is as up to date as I can get without the government questioning me. He used to fight with me as my sidekick, Technological, but after being wheelchair bound for a few months, he stopped wanting to take the risk.

I rub the film from my eyes and sit at the table. Carlos places a bag in front of me and laughs.

"Long night?" I nod and open the bag, removing the food and placing it in front of me. "Well, I calibrated all the computers in the house, so the voice command should work now. I fixed the rotation on your costume closet with the more worn clothes to the back. I also tweaked the phone and made it a little louder and rewired your mask."

"You did all of that already?" I took a sip of coffee and looked up. "It's only 8."

"Early to bed, early to rise. Early bird gets the worm. All that good stuff." I watch as Carlos buzzes around the room, practically floating from computer to computer, doing his usual tech things. "Oh, and must I remind you not to make phone calls while you have the mask on? It fucks everything up. This is the last time I'm going to fix it for you."

"But that's your job."

"No. My job is to be your best friend and tell you not to choose an entirely spandex costume. I work for you out of pity for your lack of technological know-how." He laughs and pats me on the back.

"Did you get blueberry muffins?"

* * *

I walk into work, tying my apron up onto my waist before leaping behind the counter.

"Ken, can you take the next in line? I'm held up on drink orders." I groan and move toward the register.

"Hi, what can I get-" I look up and I'm faced with a pair of beautiful, sleepy eyes. He yawns and smiles lazily at me.

"Can I have a dozen blueberry muffins, please?" He smiles at me again before reaching hastily into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Can you make it quick, they don't have to be fresh as long as they were made today. I have to go."

"Yes, sure." I walk to the rack and pick out the muffins, eight of which are freshly made. I bag them up and return to the counter to ring him up. He holds out a twenty and grips my hand.

"Keep the change..._Kendall?_" He squints at me then retracts his hand, smiling once more before stumbling out the door.

"Thank you!" I shout after him. I see him stop walking and smile to himself and I assume he heard it.

* * *

**Alright, alright. I know this sucks. It will get better, I promise. :)-**


	3. Diamond

"Where did you go?" Carlos looked up and saw the muffin I was currently shoving into my mouth. "Really? We have things to do and you spent a half hour getting muffins?"

"I told you, I have an extremely balanced breakfast. If I don't get the exact amount of carbs that I-"

"Yeah, I couldn't care any less." Carlos moved to sit at the table and opened his laptop. "So, I was thinking we could-"

"I saw him." I sat across from Carlos and grabbed both of his hands, swinging them back and forth like a lovesick schoolgirl.

"Who is '_him_' James?" I threw my head back on the chair and sighed.

"He's the beautiful, sweet, charming blonde that I saved the other day." He groaned aloud and leaned forward again. "He works at the bakery down the street, the one that we always get coffee from."

"James, you can't do this again!"

"Do what?"

"Pull _another_ reverse Stockholm on me." My jaw dropped and my hands found my hips. "Don't give me that look. Remember the guy you saved from that fire in that old apartment complex? The one that fell out the window?" I nodded although I had no clue what he had to do with anything.

"You save these people, then fall in love with them. Then when you date, you think you're going to last forever, so you come close to giving away your secret. Then I tell you not to, they break up with you a few weeks later, you cry, then do it again."

"You're being dramatic."

"No, _you_ are. You need to stop this, man. You're way too emotionally connected to the people you save."

"That's not true, and I totally resent that."

"Whatever man, can we talk about the updates I did on your suit now?" I nodded and folded my arms. Carlos continued explaining, but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy thinking about when I'd have time to stop and get a coffee and some more muffins. He must have noticed because he stopped talking and sighed.

* * *

"Did you see that guy earlier?" I tap Camille on the shoulder until she gives in and responds.

"We work at a cafe, Ken. Dozens of guys are in here all the time." She laughs and moves to put a cap on the drink she's making and hands it off to a girl waiting on the side. "Be more specific?"

"About six feet. Brown hair, hazel eyes, kinda tan?" Camille shrugs and leans against the counter. "He came during coffee rush! Dozen muffins?"

"Oh, yeah!" She picks up a rag and goes to wipe down tables. "He was alright."

"Alright?" I trail behind her. "Just alright? Dude was comparable to a greek god."

"So why didn't you ask him out?"

"I got scared." She laughs, pats me on the head and pushes me off of the table I'm sitting on.

"Get over your fear! You'll never find a man with that fear of rejection clouding your judgement."

"How do you know I'm gonna see him again?" She walks over and puts the rag and cleanser behind the counter, then takes a seat next to me.

"Considering the fact that he bought a dozen muffins he might need something to wash 'em down later?" I laughed and she shoves me toward the register. "Get back to work, flunky."

* * *

"I need coffee, 'Los." I pull on his shoulders to stop him and turn him to face me. "It's not like I'm of any help in this situation. You guys always talk over me anyway."

"Of course you need to be there. You need to know how to work this stuff."

"Look, Loge soups up the guns, you put them in the suit, and I read the manual later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need caffeine before I do anything." I walk down the street in search of coffee and come to the little cafe that Carlos and I frequent when we're in the area. I peek in the window first, trying to see if Kendall's still there, but instead I see a perky brunette working the cash register. Disappointed, I walk up to the counter.

"Hi. What can I get 'ya?" I order my usual, and she scurries off to make it. I turn around and see someone walking toward the back, covered by crates and crates of dishes. Before I can comprehend it, I'm on the ground holding the blond in one arm and the crates of dishes in the other.

* * *

Camille sends me off to the back to get clean dishes and bring them out to the front. Before I left her, she told me to take two trips but I thought I could pull it off in one. After all, it was only two crates.

I stack one on top of the other and hoist them into the air, making sure to kick around before I walk out so I don't run into any boxes. I make it out of the back and to the store front with no problem until my foot catches on a puddle. When I think that I've hit the ground, I wait for the crates to come crashing down on me, but they never do. I open my eyes and there he is.

"You okay?" He laughs, his perfect teeth glimmering like stars. I babble for a while, unable to form words while he sets the dishes down and lifts me into a chair like little girl with a skinned knee.

"You're really strong." It's at this point that I realize that I should have stuck to babbling senseless words because he laughs at me again.

"So I've been told." Camille runs from behind the counter and stands between us.

"That was amazing!" She adds enthusiastically. "How did you even get to him so fast? It's like one second you were there, then you were here!"

"I've been told that too." He stands up, and brushes off his pants. "I just work out a lot. I'm training for a marathon. Is my drink done?" He's suddenly acting uncomfortable and it seems like he just wants to leave.

"I'll get it for you." I run to the front of the store, almost slipping in the water again before making it there. I hear him say 'be careful' as I grab his drink from the counter and finish it up, popping the lid on before I hear Camille's voice in the back of my head screaming to get over my fear of rejection. I pull a sharpie out of my apron pocket, draw a little doodle of him saving me on the side of the cup, and sign it with my number. I wave him over and he picks his drink up and heads toward the door. He takes a sip, and stops. My heart drops when he turns around and comes back.

"What's this?" Camille looks between us and smiles at me, signaling me talk to him.

"My number." He raises his eyebrows and I continue. "I figured that I owed you one, and you'll need a way to call in that favor." He smirks and looks back down at the cup, my heart racing the whole time.

"I will definitely do just that." He puts his hand out and I grab onto it. "James. James Diamond."

"Kendall Knight." I look into his eyes as his hand slips away. "Thanks for, _y'know_."

"You're welcome, Kendall." He winks at me, then saunters out the door. Camille runs over and jumps up and down by my side.

"You actually did it!" She continues her little dance, but I just couldn't get over this weird feeling over deja vu that had washed over me when he left.

* * *

**It's been a while, but it's here. I know a lot of people don't read this, but I like it so far and I'm definitely planning on continuing this. :)-**


End file.
